


Of Fallen Gods

by Cai_Artz



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Magic, Multi, Violence, mlm, more tags to come, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:28:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29180283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cai_Artz/pseuds/Cai_Artz
Summary: In a quest to strengthen his magic Vince comes upon a fallen god and everything about the world he once knew starts to fall apart.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 3





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Its finally here! The beginning of the official Of Fallen Gods story! I hope you all enjoy seeing my ocs in action! This story will also be on wattpad under the same name so check it out there as well! 
> 
> This story is subject to minor changes after all it is in its Beta form so be sure to come back and reread :) and don't be afraid to leave feedback

The night is warm when the young man finds himself standing in front of an old worn temple door looking up at the cold stone. It had taken a lot for him to get to this point and yet he still felt an uneasy lump in his chest rather than satisfaction. Checking his map one last time the boy lets out a shuddered sigh before taking in the cobblestone door at full length. Etched into broken cobblestone a blue dragon figure coiled against the cracks as its eye stared unseeingly at the stranger that stood at its doorstep, a peek of crimson red hair fell from the hood of his deep green cloak and over the boy's forehead as he stared back at the dragon. One look back at the boy, however, and its eye lit a brilliant blue. "Welp..this is it," he mutters as the door creaks open, scraping against the ground, the sound echoing into the dark. With a heavy sigh, the boy walks through the door and into a darkened corridor. _I hope this works, it's really my only option at this point,_ the boy thinks to himself as he makes his way through the worn temple, the only light to guide him being the flicker of torches nested above him along the walls. As he nears his destination twin statues lay before him, two mighty dragons lay in a resting position as they face each other. This was it, months of research had led up to this moment. With a deep breath, he kneels in front of them, it was as if he could feel the statues heavy stares as he knelt, the sensation sent a shiver through him. "I've come to request assistance from the gods," he begins, sliding the hood of his cloak off his head as he settles upon the ground. He holds out his hands and, with a deep breath he mutters a summoning spell into his palms. "I call upon the God and Goddess of divination." His words echo along the walls for a moment before he looks down at his hands with a groan. "C'mon, c'mon.." he mutters, clenching and unclenching his fists until… "AHA!" Light blue flames flicker to light in his hands before they dissipate, leaving behind two pentagrams seared on his skin. For a moment there's silence as he contemplates his next words, and then, looking up at the statues once again, he begins to speak "I can't make potions like I used to," he says, his voice pleading, "I need your help. My magic is failing me and I need...I need. A blessing or something." For a moment, there is only silence again. His words, which once echoed along the walls, evaporate quickly. The statues before him lay still and unmoving, nothing to indicate the Gods had heard his plea at all. After a long minute, he gives up, clenching his fists the runes disappear, and his spell breaks. "Ugh! This isn't going to fucking work!" he growls, slamming his fists against his thighs, with a heavy sigh he lifts himself up, "fine..I'll do it myself."

・・・・ ・・・・ ・・・・

Upon exiting the temple the boy takes notice that the air seems to have stilled in an ever-present coolness, despite the chill there appeared to be no wind. Strange, he thinks, considering it was warm a moment ago. He lifts his hood back onto his head, shivering as he makes his way to the cliffside his hands rubbing against his sleeves in an attempt to get some semblance of warmth. Taking a quick look around his eyes widen as he settles on the form of a large crater within the center of what once was only forest. Below him, lying within the crater surrounded by fallen trees is what looks like a humanoid form, "what the hell?" the boy mutters, when he squints he could make out what looks like purple markings on the figure that seem to fade as the boy makes his way down the cliffside and over to the center of the crater. Upon closer inspection, the creature looks almost human but not really, and almost male but not quite, its hair curly and dark covered its eyes. There were several scars, bruises, and cuts along its body some hidden under tattered pants barely clinging to its form. Spots of purple scales trailed up its arm leading to his clawed hands though the scales seemed to fade the more the boy looked at them. Something about the creature seemed off, not counting the fact that it didn't seem like it was breathing.

"Woah..are-are they dead!?" the boy whispers, only to let out a shout and jump back in surprise when the creature's eyes snap open. They let out a groan, their bright pink pupils slitted and narrowed before fading into a deep brown and becoming hazy and unfocused, and it takes a moment for the boy to calm himself down before he feels a sense of relief flood through him. At least they weren't dead. He didn't know what he would have done if he had a dead body on his hands. Quickly he takes a moment to determine whether or not the creature would attack him. But the creature itself, although conscious, is slumped against the ground, clothes torn and body covered in scratches and bruises. And with a relieved sigh the boy picks them up, "C'mon I can heal you...maybe," he says, settling the creature in his arms with relative ease before making his way out of the crater and further into the woods.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi wakes up somewhere strange

Something soft and foreign coils against Illumi's body. As their mind catches up with their body the sensation seems to increase, fuzzy and warm, until they can no longer handle it anymore. With a hiss they lift themselves up, the world around them coming into focus as they blink against harsh sunlight and try to make out the shapes that continue to blur and unblur. When things start to settle they're quick to realize they're in a bed, being covered by a weird number of blankets. A quick look around reveals to them the nature of their surroundings. They're in a cabin, or at least the bedroom of one. Cozy enough as it was, with books stacked neatly upon a dresser in the corner of the room and two unlit lanterns that sat on either side. A large window to the right of the room let in the offending sunlight, it settled along the wood flooring like a blanket and danced along the edges of a dark wood armoire.

"Ugh... My head.." they growl, squeezing their eyes shut and placing a hand on the offending area to rub at the crease between their eyebrows, slowly they brush their fingers along their hair, the once dark brown curls beginning to flow into a bright pink. With the change in their hair comes a shift in their body stature. They sit straighter now, small cuts along their cheek and body begin to fade. Slowly, the creature takes notice of the bandages covering their body, several were wrapped around their chest, the sensation becoming uncomfortable as they heal. With clawed fingers, they reach over their chest and promptly rip them off with a deep sigh, and as they flex their shoulders a pair of purple wings stretch from behind them. They flap once, then twice, as if getting used to the added weight upon their back. The sunlight hits the inner wing, blue and purple feathers shimmer in its light. There's another tear and one by one several pieces of bandage fall to the floor. "That's better," they purr, shifting their body until a long purple tail slips from in between the blanket and flicks lazily along the floor, the feathers at its tip swishing against the wood.

"Oh good!" someone says, startling the creature out of its daze. Groggily, they look up at the sound of the new voice, the door opens, and before them is the young man. He gives them a hearty grin and a thumbs up, "you're awake!"

"Who the fuck are you!?"

"Woah there," the boy takes a step into the room, arms up in mock surrender, "there's no need to yell, after all, I saved your life, you could have died in that ditch if I didn't bring you home."

Illumi lets out a sharp scoff, their tail flicks angrily across the floor, "I would have healed either way," they say standing up to stretch only to find as the blanket slips from their body that they're naked. The boy gasps, covering his eyes, "I could've sworn you still had a good amount of pants left!" he whines, "I'll go get you a new pair."

Illumi rolls their eyes, scanning the boy with interest, "who are you?" the creature asks as the boy stumbles blindly around the room to his dresser and opens the drawer. He was a bit taller than them, though skinnier for sure, his crimson hair sticking out every which way. He was weird looking, but human Illumi concluded. He shuffles through the drawer for a moment before pulling out a pair of light blue jeans, then he turns back to the creature with his eyes still closed and blindly holds it out.

"Here, put this on," he says, stepping back a bit when the creature takes the pants from his hand. There's a quick shuffling sound and when he deems it safe he puts his hand down and faces the creature again. Illumi crosses their arms and waits for an answer, it's only then that the boy remembers their question. "My name is Vince," he says with a cautious smile, and then after a moment as Illumi studies him with narrowed eyes, he speaks again, "and I will answer every question you have in exchange for you answering some of my own."

And so, several minutes of back and forth later, Illumi finds themselves downstairs, fully clothed in an old t-shirt and the blue jeans, and sitting upon a table inside the quaint little kitchen of Vince's home as he putters around pouring tea into two cups. Illumi slips off the table and into a chair as the boy makes his way over and places a cup in front of them before slipping into the seat across from them with his own cup in his hand.

"Tell me who you are?" he says, taking a slow sip of his tea.

"Who I am? You don't know?" Illumi raises a brow, lifting their own mug to their lips and taking a sip their eyes continue to study him, this time though, a hint of confusion laces their features.

"You're nothing I've ever seen outside of storybooks. But I know those stories." Vince speaks again, "about gods who shift their being. Beasts in the sky who soar above us."

"Then you know of me." Illumi's tail coils around their chair as they gently place their cup back onto the table and lean back.

"I don't even know your name," Vince insists.

"My name is Illumi," the creature thinks for a moment, their claws chipping at the wood on the table. Then, they speak again, "I promised you answers," Illumi says, eyeing Vince dangerously, "and I will give them to you in exchange for my shelter."

"Shelter from what?" the boy asks, his eyes flickering over to where Illumi's claws dig into the table.

"None of your business, I just need to hide for a bit. And if you want answers, you'll let me." Vince considers this for a moment, his gaze shifts over to the open window to his left. He doesn't know this creature, but he can feel the magic rolling off them in waves, enough to knock him over if the creature so much as shifts its wings. His curiosity would eat him alive if he did nothing about the questions forming in his head. So, with a smirk, he nods at them and watches as they settle back into their chair with a satisfied smile.

"We have a deal."

**・・・・ ・・・・ ・・・・**

Thousands of years ago, in a time of only darkness, violence, and anger two dragons emerged from the stars. The beasts had come upon a group of five humans, who, having never seen such creatures before, demanded to know who they were. The dragons had established themselves as the God and Goddess of all things magic and divination and had told the humans that they had been chosen to destroy the darkness and usher in a new age of prosperity. As proof, the Gods had bestowed upon the five humans a sliver of their divine magic.

They had told the humans to use their powers to defeat the darkness shrouding their world but the humans had grown greedy, only using their powers to further the destruction of the world around them and place themselves into positions of power. Several generations later the humans had passed their magic and their knowledge of all things included to their descendants and in turn, they had waged war upon every other creature in their world and then had waged war amongst themselves. In retaliation, the Gods had created another deity, a dragon bestowed with the power of love and fate, and had trained the newborn dragon until it was strong enough to descend into the world below and bring balance.

"So you're the deity of love?" At the sound of Vince's voice, Illumi opens their eyes with a soft sigh.

"Yes, I am."

Vince's grip on his cup tightens, "so you ended it? The fighting?" he asks, nails scratching at the chipping paint.

Illumi frowns, "no, not yet, I was too young I didn't even know my purpose then. So my parents had made another, this time a human turned into a god…" They look nervous, the cup shakes in their hand. "He failed, the war waged on for years before I was powerful enough to at least bring balance to the darkness."

It's silent for a moment as Vince takes everything in. It's only broken when Illumi slams their cup on the table and pushes their chair back with a violent scrape. "Storytime is over," they hiss.

"Wait! You can't just end it there!" Vince whines, lifting himself up to follow after them.

"You know who I am now, that's all you wanted from me."

"But I've got so many questions!" he rushes after them as they make their way out of the kitchen and into the main room. Illumi hums, studying their surroundings with an unhurried gaze. Vince's main room, unlike his bedroom, is filled with an abundance of things. Books lay strewn across a desk in the corner of the room, herbs and potted plants rest neatly along the windowsill. There's a bookcase to the left of the room filled with jars and knickknacks. What catches Illumi's attention, however, is the cauldron that sits in the middle of the room atop a stone tablet and then it hits them exactly what Vince is. The human in question is still speaking, they notice, but when they turn to face him his train of words is cut off quickly.

"You're a warlock," the god says matter of factly.

"Yeah, and?" Illumi ignores him in favor of stalking over to the desk, where smack in the center lays a worn and clearly used book. Pieces of paper stick out from its edges, and it had clearly been bookmarked several times over. The god lifts the book, flipping until they hit the page they're looking for and then they stop and place it back down on the table.

"You're magic. It's weak isn't it?" They aren't making eye contact with the boy, but they can feel when he grows nervous.

"How-"

"This book," Illumi says, "it's about gods. You've been on the page about the divination deities enough times, I can make a wild guess as to why." Vince only huffs, and when Illumi turns to him again his arms are crossed and he's looking down at the floor with a pout.

"They weren't exactly any help," he mutters. The god watches them for a moment something flickers in their gaze but as quickly as it was there it disappears, their tail flicks from side to side as they think heavily about their options.

"Okay," they say finally, shutting the book and strutting past the confused warlock.

"Okay what?" he says, turning and following after them.

"I'll help you."

"With my magic?"

Illumi rolls their eyes, "no I meant with your tea-making skills." Picking a couple of books from the bookshelf they make their way back over to the warlock and shove them into his hands, "yes with your magic. Now start reading these, we're going to begin when you're done."

The warlock looks down at the books in his hands. He lifts one to read the cover, only to groan and drop them onto his desk. " _Crystals and Their Energies_?" he reads aloud, " _The Art of Summoning!?_ Come on, these books are for beginners!"

"As far as I'm concerned you are a beginner. You wouldn't be asking the Gods for favors otherwise. Now get reading." the dragon hisses before disappearing into the kitchen, leaving the exasperated warlock to his own devices. With a heavy sigh, he slumps into his chair and opens the first book.


	3. chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! As always be sure to remember this story is in its beta phases and feedback is surely appreciated! Enjoy!

The thing about being trained in magic by a deity who is the literal embodiment of magic is that you’re under the impression that things will be simple. At least, that’s the impression Vince had had when he proudly marched over to Illumi having finally finished all three books in a matter of a single week he smugly handed them over to the deity. Only for the smug smile to promptly fall from his face when they insisted he begins performing every spell within those books and quizzed him on every single crystal and its meaning while doing so. Having done that, they simply handed him three more books to read and then left the small cabin. Over the following week, Vince found that they had begun doing that a lot. The dragon would leave the cabin and go off to Gods knows where only to return at night and slip into the spare room Vince had prepared for them. 

On the fourth day of that week, when Illumi slipped back into the cabin Vince was sitting in the main room waiting for them. “Where are you going every day?” he asks out of the blue, startling the dragon slightly. The surprise slipped from their face almost immediately, being replaced instead by annoyance. 

“What are you, my mother?” they hiss, “focus on your work instead of what I’m doing. You’ll never get any better if your nose is all up in my business and not in those pages.” The warlock rolls his eyes at them, shutting the book in his lap and dropping it onto the couch. 

“You leave almost every day. You said you wanted to stay with me to hide and yet you’re out there. Aren’t you afraid whatever you’re hiding from will find you?” he says, crossing his arms. The dragon flicks their tail, their pointed ears drooping slightly as they glare at him but they say nothing. He would find them intimidating if it weren’t for the fact that there was a small pout forming on their lips. “What do you need to hide from anyway?” Vince continues, “I mean you’re a God what could you possibly be afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid!” that struck a nerve. Vince smirks, good, he just needs to dig a little farther. It’s dangerous what he’s doing, but curiosity killed the cat after all. 

“How about another deal?” Vince says, leaning forward his arm propped on his leg as he rests his chin in his hand, “I finished the books you gave me,  _ Choosing Your Familiar  _ was really interesting,” Vince lowers his voice to almost a whisper, silence fills the room around them. The dragon lifts a brow, Vince knows they know where this is going, his eyes flicker over to their tail which has begun to swing back and forth lazily the way it does whenever something interests them. “If I can summon my familiar by Monday, you owe me an answer to any question I have.”

Over the course of the two weeks Illumi has been with him Vince has learned two very interesting things about his resident deity. The first being that they were a sucker for dares everything from their body language to the way they spoke was a testament to this. They teased him relentlessly, making up prize after prize in order to get him to learn his spells. And as he performed those spells he learned something else, the dragon was interested in challenges. When he struggled he would find that they were watching him with interest, one brow raised as if daring him to give up, their tail would swish lazily, they’d be laser-focused. And when he successfully performed those spells he’d turn to find them looking at him with a level of satisfaction in their gaze as if his own triumphs had pleased them in some sense. It became a game for them both, Illumi would present a challenge and Vince would win a prize for completing it. So when Vince presented this new challenge for them, he knew they would fall into it like a moth to a flame. And fall they did.

**・・・・・・・・・・・・**

That was how Vince found himself struggling over the summoning spell for 2 days. It was Sunday, the final day, and he needed to focus. Illumi went out, as they usually would, leaving the warlock to his own devices. “I’ll be back tomorrow night,” they had said, “if you have no familiar with you. I win.” Illumi had asked for nothing in return for their win, simply telling him that if they did in fact win he would have to leave them alone for a week. It was a simple request really, and that only served to pique his curiosity even more. He scoffed at the notion, leaving the literal God residing in his residence alone without a single question answered would be a waste, especially considering how little people really knew about the Gods they worshipped. 

After struggling to understand the spell engraved within the contents of his book in his cabin for a good two hours Vince had decided to take his book and a bell and suffer outside instead. And that was how he found himself now, sitting in the clearing behind his house with his book open, a summoning circle scrawled into the dirt, and his bell outstretched in his hand. 

“Blood of my blood, you spirits above,” he began, sucking in a breath and shutting his eyes, “come from below and above; Entities loving who wish me well, come to this circle when I ring this bell.” He rings the bell, the soft tinkling fills the quiet air. His eyes are still shut, so when he feels the strange shift in the air and the sensation of something’s own spiritual magic brushes tentatively against his own Vince hesitates to open his eyes. Slowly, he cracks one eye open and then the other before looking down at his summoning circle and in it, he finds...a snake? 

“Oh,” he whispers, kneeling down to get a better look at his familiar. The snake is coiled neatly in the circle, its head raised as it studies him. It’s scales are a beautiful red with lighter splotches of pink trailing down its body, it wasn’t very large, about the size of his arm really. Vince gulps, holding out his hand to accept his newfound familiar and hope that in turn, it accepts him. The snake slowly unfurls, slithering into his hand before curling itself around his arm. 

Vince has heard the stories before whether it be from his parents or the peers he had made in his travels, but the feeling of your familiar’s magic combining with yours is something they were never able to properly describe. It’s different for everyone, some experience the feeling of floating as if walking on air, for others it's like swimming in a cool ocean. But for Vince, it's a burning sensation that starts in his feet and crawls its way up his body while his familiar sinks into his skin like a brand. It takes everything in him not to scream, but when it's finally over Vince falls to the ground with a sharp gasp, panting heavily as he lifts his arm to find his familiar branding itself into him like a tattoo blue flames flickering along his arm before disappearing. It doesn’t speak to him, not really, but there’s a flash of images in his brain and then a single word. 

“Ezra,” Vince gasps out staring unseeingly up at the sky, “okay..that’s your name.” He takes a shuddering breath before gathering the strength to lift himself up. He feels something shift in his skin as the snake makes its way over to his neck. “Okay...Okay, I can get used to that,” he mutters to himself, gathering up his things. “C’mon Ezra, tomorrow there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” 

Ezra “speaks” to Vince a lot. The first thing the snake had expressed when Vince had walked back into his cabin was that he was angry about the mess. And Vince would ignore it, he really would, if the snake’s discontent would stop flashing in his head every five seconds. He had given up after a couple of minutes of trying to ignore it and decided to clean up simply to placate the being. Is this what familiars were for? Making sure your workspace was cleaned? He figures there would be more to it than that. 

“Ow!” he hisses when the snake sends a sharp spike of pain onto his arm. Ah, so it can read his thoughts. He assumed as much, being that they were communicating telepathically in a sense, though he figured it was more of a one-way deal, he’d have to get used to the feeling of something being in his head he supposed. He mutters an apology to his new friend before finishing up the rest of his cleaning. “There see, spotless,” he says, gesturing around the space until he felt the snake’s satisfaction through their bond. 

It didn’t stop there though. The snake could feel when Vince was hungry when he needed to rest when he needed a  _ bath _ and he would insist on making him do those things. Safe to say the rest of the day had been  _ very _ eventful. When Monday finally reared its head Vince awoke to find the snake was silent. It worried him to the point where he lifted his shirt just to make sure he was still there. He was. Though he had moved from his original place and was now resting across Vince’s chest. The tingling sensation Vince would get whenever the snake would move was still weird, but as he looked at himself in the mirror he figured he could do with his cool new “tattoo”. 

Quickly, he changes into a tank top (something that he found would probably make it easier for him to check up on his friend than a t-shirt) and makes his way downstairs. Ezra still says nothing, but Vince figures he’s still asleep. He goes through the motions of his morning routine as he usually does, making breakfast and his favorite tea before taking stock of his herbs and artifacts until he’s satisfied. It’s only after he does this that Ezra sends an image into his mind. His cauldron. Did Ezra want him to practice?

“Well good morning to you too,” he mutters, following the images flashing in his mind until he gathered all the books Ezra deemed necessary. “An antidote for common poisons?” Vince says after Ezra had directed him to a page and he had read the title. As Ezra flashes another image into his head Vince asks, “why this?” The snake doesn’t grace him with an answer but the request in itself was strange enough to have the warlock following it just to see what would happen if he did. It was in his nature as a familiar, Vince supposed as he poured the necessary ingredients into the now bubbling cauldron, to guide the warlock into taking the necessary steps to benefit both of them. Vince works for most of the day and well into the night with Ezra only letting him take short breaks in between to eat and recuperate. His familiar insisted on the potion being perfect, though he had yet to offer an explanation as to why. It was nearing sundown when he finally finished pouring the potion into a small vial and holding it up with a proud grin taking in the swirling blue liquid. His familiar sends a flash of satisfaction through their bond and just as he was about to give himself a congratulatory pat on the back there was a rumbling roar and then a crash from outside. 

**・・・・・・・・・・・・**

The cabin seemed to shake with vigor as the thing outside landed startling Vince who turned quickly to make sure non of his more important artifacts had fallen from their place upon his bookcase. When the house settled and with his vial in hand he bolts for the front door, ripping it open with a gasp he surveys the scene. Laying before him upon the crumbled ground was a dragon. Upon closer inspection, Vince finds that the dragon must have attempted to land mid flight as he could see the crash path spanning from the forest and ending where the dragon’s body rested. 

The pine trees, which once stood tall in front of Vince’s cabin, were scattered upon the ground leaving only the stumps standing in their place. The dragon in question was a deep purple, there was a clump of pink feathers at the base of its neck, and impact scratches littered its light pink underbelly, though nothing too deep or worrying. Its wings which lay spread upon the ground were dirtied and bloody though they didn’t look in any way broken. 

It took Vince a moment to realize who lay before him, it took him even longer to realize exactly why Ezra had him make the poison antidote. Illumi had been poisoned, he could see it in the way a deep black substance stretched across the expanse of their large neck like vines. The dragon’s breath was labored and pained, they cracked open one eye to survey the scene, their pupil narrowing when their gaze landed on him.  _ How could they have possibly been poisoned?!  _ The young warlock thought as he took a step closer to his injured friend. Ezra’s form emerged from his arm to inspect the dragon closer, his actions earned him a terrifying hiss from deep within the dragon’s throat as they lifted their large head and the purple feathers on their jaw flared as they bared large teeth at the snake. 

“Relax,” Vince mutters, “it’s just me. We want to help you.” Illumi lets out another guttural hiss when he quickly scans the dragon’s neck for an open wound, finding it just below the end of its neck hidden by the pink feathers on its chest that flare as the dragon’s discomfort increases. He reaches a hand out studying his friend for any sign that they would attack him if he dared get closer. Illumi eyes him warily for a moment before their head drops back to the ground with a low groan unable to keep up their terrifying facade any longer. He takes that as his queue to pour the contents of the vial onto the gash and watches with satisfaction as it slowly starts to heal. It was a quicker heal than he had expected, though he considered it was due to him giving the antidote to a literal god. He makes a mental note of the creature’s healing ability. 

Still, he finds it strange that an all-powerful deity would need a potion to help them with a minor poisoning, even more than he finds it strange that his familiar seemed to know this was going to happen. He was going to have a lot of questions later, but for now, as Illumi stares at the snake as it settles back into his arm, he finds himself smiling smugly and chuckling softly when they roll their eyes at him. Though he had won their bet, he couldn’t help but find himself thinking that there would be many more to come. One thing was for sure, he ended the day with way more questions than he started with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you like this be sure to follow me on twitter for more updates and oc content
> 
> https://twitter.com/Cai_Artz
> 
> https://twitter.com/OFGcomic
> 
> And support me on patreon is you want!  
> https://www.patreon.com/Cai_Artz


	4. chapter 3

There was no way Vince was gonna be able to bring Illumi inside if they insisted on continuing to be the size of his fucking house and it didn’t look like they planned on moving anytime soon. The dragon, though they seemed to be healing slowly, continued to lay in the makeshift ditch they had made when they landed into the dirt. Vince had gone back inside to make dinner, coming back out 30 minutes later with a bowl of hot soup in hand only to find that they hadn’t moved. They were definitely looking better though, the scars littering their body when they landed had healed completely leaving behind only the blood as proof that they had ever been there at all. The black vines that had slid up their neck when they got poisoned had all but left. 

The dragon had shifted to lay curled up upon the ground, their face covered by their tail and their wings folded gently at their sides. Vince sighs, sitting upon his porch, his legs crossed under him as he rests the bowl on his lap. “Are you going to change back anytime soon?” he says, his voice, despite being laced with sarcasm had a hint of worry within it. Did deities need to eat? Would Illumi go hungry if they didn’t? The only evidence his friend even heard him was the small flick of their ears. The dragon growls in response, unfurling their tail to glare at the warlock weakly. 

There was a small pressure forming in the back of his head as the dragon stared at him, like someone nudging him with their finger. For a moment he panicked, squeezing his eyes shut he took a moment to figure out what it was. It only hit him that Illumi was attempting to communicate with him, asking permission to speak telepathically. He thanked his familiar silently, he wouldn't have been able to recognize the familiar feeling without Ezra having done the same to him when they first met. Unlike Ezra though, when Vince allowed Illumi to finally talk with him he could hear their voice inside his head.  _ No images _ , he thought,  _ that’s weird. _

_ My telepathic abilities are a little stronger than your familiars, I don’t require images to communicate.  _ Illumi explained and Vince’s eyes opened with a startled gasp. He turned to look at the dragon who continued to rest as if nothing had happened, the jerk. 

_ Okay, I can get used to that, _ he thinks, shifting himself into a more comfortable position. He places his bowl onto the ground beside him and leans forward concentrating on speaking to the deity.  _ So why can’t you change back? _

_ You miss me that much already?  _ The dragon purrs in his head, he could feel their satisfaction through their bond. 

Rolling his eyes, the warlock speaks again,  _ answer my question. When I found you, you were sort of human and you healed just fine, so what's up now? _

The dragon lets out a raspy sigh,  _ My powers are fucked, I’m getting weaker. A Gods’ power comes from the mortals who believe in them...and, let's just say I haven’t been doing my job. _

_ What? Like spreading love and all that? _

There's a soft raspy series of growls coming from the dragon, like they're laughing at him,  _ something like that.  _ Vince waits a moment for the dragon to continue but when he’s only met with silence he figures this was just another question he wouldn’t get a clear answer to. 

Instead, he continues to speak.  _ That still doesn’t explain why you’re in that form. _

_ It takes less energy to be in my original form than my sort of human one. So while I get better I’m going to stay like this.  _ The dragon says, pulling their tail away from their face to get a better look at the warlock, their head resting on their paws.

_ How did this even happen? I mean, poison, really?  _ The dragon lifts its head to hiss at him which only serves to make the warlock laugh. 

_ I was looking for something and I pissed off the wrong chimera,  _ the dragon huffs. Vince covers his mouth to keep from making the dragon even angrier with his laughter. It takes a moment for him to calm himself down, the dragon glaring at him all the while. 

_ Maybe I can help you find whatever you’re looking for,  _ the warlock says after calming himself down,  _ I was able to find the temple of the divination Gods on my own, I’m sure I can do this.  _ The dragon hums, crossing one paw over the other as they think. 

_ I’m looking for my temple. It should be down here somewhere, probable not far from my- ah, from the divination Gods. If I can find it I can work on getting myself back to full strength.  _

_ How will that help?  _

_ Inside every God’s temple, there are offerings. We all accept different things but our offerings are what keep us strong.  _

_ There weren’t any in the temple I went to. How can you be so sure there are any in yours? _

The dragon tilts its head, craning their neck until they’re face to face with the warlock,  _ you said you’ve heard stories, there must be something in that little book of yours, so why are you asking me these questions?  _

The warlock merely shrugs,  _ I learn better from the source I suppose. And besides, you owed me answers. I won the bet. _

_ I’ve answered more than one question though. _

_ Yeah well,  _ Vince lifted himself up until he was eyeing the dragon directly, he didn’t dare touch them though,  _ I’m going to help you find your temple, and im letting you stay with me, I deserved a couple more answers. _

__ The dragon lets out a puff of warm air from its nose, causing the warlock to splutter and take a step back. They seemed to smirk, it was a bit hard to tell but the way their lips curled until there was a peek of sharp teeth could only be considered such. They lifted their neck away from him and settled their head back onto their paws. Vince huffs, settling back down on the porch. He feels Ezra shifting along his skin, the sensation that was once annoying is merely a tingle now but it reminds him of another issue that had arisen when the dragon landed upon his door. 

_ How did my familiar know what was going to happen?  _ He asks, more to himself than to the creatures now residing within his thoughts. Ezra answers him with a series of images, pages from his book about familiars, it seemed as if the snake was mocking him.  _ Yeah yeah, I should’ve read more I get it! _

Some familiars, though not all, were capable of predicting the near future. Most of them gave their warlocks a glimpse of what was to come, others only pointed them in the right direction guiding them to a solution they deem necessary. Vince supposed Ezra was the other type of familiar. Looking down at his arm he rubbed gently at the sliver of Ezra’s tail peeking from his shirt, the gesture like a soft thank you. In return, the snake’s head pops from his skin to nuzzle at his cheek. He chuckles softly, looking down at the snake and then at the soup that was starting to get cold. “I’m gonna head back inside,” Vince says to the dragon who seemed to be asleep even though he could still feel them residing in the back of his head, “it’s getting late and we definitely have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Illumi doesn’t answer him, but as he heads back inside he feels a grateful nudge in his head before the dragon’s presence slips from his mind leaving him alone with his familiar once more.

**・・・・・・・・・・・・**

“Okay!” Illumi startles awake to the sound of the cabin door slamming open and landing against the side with a sharp thud. It's not even daylight yet, if Illumi had to guess it was close to dawn. They let out a yawn bearing razor-sharp teeth as the young warlock saunters outside with a backpack slung on his shoulder and several books in his arms. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all that night, and one quick peek into his mind Illumi had found that their assumption was correct. 

Vince had been working tirelessly, scouring book after book for the answer to Illumi’s current predicament. It had taken him most of the night to come up with a solid plan, and while the dragon slept he had prepared to put his solution into action. 

“So,” he says, placing the open pages of a book in front of the dragon’s snout, “I checked my book on Gods but for some weird reason you weren’t in there. There were some pages missing I probably hadn’t noticed before,” he shrugs, “but anyway I looked into some of the other Gods and apparently all of their temples were created around major cities.” he points eagerly at the page which had a map of all the major cities in Aprea, little points had been highlighted indicating the presence of a temple. 

_ Wait,  _ Vince winces as the dragon’s voice fills his mind without warning, they nudge his head gently with their snout in a small apology before speaking again,  _ we’re in Aprea? _

“This is news to you!? You’ve been here for like a month!” The dragon rolls its eyes, tilting its head up towards the sky as if looking for something.

_ Sorry, I didn’t realize that when I fell to the fucking ground I should’ve had a map on me.  _

“Don’t get snippy with me when I’m helping you,” the warlock mutters, shutting his book, “anyway as I was saying, it's not like we can check every single city in Aprea but the least we can do is start with the closest one.” He shrugs his back off his shoulder and places it on the ground, unzipping it he drops his books in and pulls out a large map, “I made this last night, that way we can cross places off as we go.”

_ I should be able to sense when we’re close to my temple, there’s no need to keep a map. _

“Yeah well you may be some all-powerful deity but I'm still human, I need a map.” He folds the map up and lifts his backpack back onto his shoulder straightening himself out he grins up at the dragon, “shall we?”

_ The sun’s not even up yet. _

“We’re going on an adventure! We should start traveling early!” The warlock says eagerly, practically vibrating with excitement. It’s been a while since the young warlock had had the opportunity to travel anywhere really much less with someone like Illumi. The dragon in question turns their head towards the forest beyond them and takes a moment to think. With a heavy sigh, they tilt their head down and stretch one wing out.

_ Get on, you haven’t slept all night and you’ll probably kill over by this afternoon. _

The warlock lets out a soft gasp, shifting nervously from foot to foot, “a-are you sure?” the dragon doesn’t reply, just stares at him pointedly until he cautiously makes his way over to their outstretched wing and uses it as leverage to climb onto their back. Shakily he grips onto one bright blue scale at the base of their neck and squeaks as they lift themself up until they’re standing and fold their wing back against their side. 

_ Don’t worry, I don’t exactly have the strength to start flying.  _

Vince lets out a relieved sigh as he leans his head against the large scale, jolting slightly when the dragon begins to move into the woods. He feels Ezra send him a comforting nudge against his neck as the pair makes their way away from his home and further into whatever awaited them beyond it.

**・・・・・・・・・・・・**

“Wait,” Vince says as they pass the fallen trees Illumi had left in the wake of their crash and made their way towards their first destination. Vince had been sure to pull his map out once he was settled on the dragon’s back and guide them in the direction of their first major city. The kingdom of Raenia was a day’s journey away from Vince’s cabin. It laid nestled between the kingdom of the sirens and that of the elves, ran by a powerful clan of panther shifters for generations. The city was a gorgeous one filled with color and music and all kinds of life as it was one known for its trading centers that brought many races to its outskirts to do business with each other. At least, that is what Vince had heard years ago, he had little to no idea what it was like now and so naturally he began to worry. “You can’t just...y’know, walk in there as a dragon.” 

Illumi grunts, tilting their head to train an eye on the warlock as they walked. “I mean, the Gods haven’t been seen in centuries and I haven’t been to the city in a while and...How do you think people would react if you just showed up out of the blue with a warlock on your back?” the dragon lets out an annoyed huff but they couldn’t help but consider what Vince was saying. It was true, it had been a while since they had set foot into the world of mortals, and even then…

_ It’ll take us a day to get there on foot,  _ they say,  _ if we find a place for me to rest long enough to heal just a bit more I’m sure I will be able to change my form again.  _ Vince nods, holding his map up to his face he scans it for a safe space for them to stop. 

“There’s a clearing in between here and the kingdom,” he says, tilting the map a bit to get a better look, “we’ll probably be there by nightfall if we keep heading west.” The dragon hums in agreement before setting their pace again. 

True to his word they reach the clearing by nightfall. After setting Vince down and checking for any signs of immediate danger (or rogue chimeras) the deity deems it safe enough to rest for the night. The clearing itself isn’t too big, just a middle ground between both wooded areas, it was littered with fresh grass and small flowers. The dragon settled themself on their belly, resting their head on their paws, and let out a comforting sigh. Vince places his bag on the ground, folding up his map and stuffing it back inside. He takes an apple out and offers it to the dragon who blinks at him before shutting their eyes. 

_ Maybe they really don’t eat, _ Vince thinks to himself before taking a bite of the apple. Illumi’s body shifts startling Vince out of his thoughts. The dragon lifts one wing, opening an eye to look at Vince and then at the space between their front and back paws. “Huh?” Vince whispers, taking a small step forward. The dragon eyes him again, shifting their wing once more, “you…” Vince huffs, shakily making his way over to the dragon he settles himself under their wing leaning his back against their belly. Satisfied, the dragon curls their tail around him and shuts their eyes once more. 

Vince takes their moment of calm to finally study the dragon in close proximity. Their body consisted of mostly feathers, though there were large scales on each of their paws, like some sort of light armor. As they breathed the feathers at the base of their neck and on their jaw shuddered. Slowly, the boy lifted a hand and placed it against the pink clump of feathers at the base of their neck. Soft. 

It was strange, Vince thought, how threatening and yet soft the dragon was. Their body didn’t really provide them much in the way of protection being mostly feathers as they were but sharp claws and bright blue spines were the only things in the way of protection Vince could see. Did they breathe fire? He thought as he settled deeper into their warmth. He made a mental note to ask them tomorrow as he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you like this be sure to follow me on twitter for more updates and oc content
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**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the first installment of Of Fallen Gods! If you want updates on the story and oc art pls follow me on twitter!  
> https://twitter.com/OFGcomic  
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